Montes Alpha Syrah 2019 (Chile)

Montes Alpha Syrah 2019 (Chile)Deep violet red colour. The nose is full of Syrah character, with strong, ripe black fruit notes of blackberry and blueberry, as well as red fruit such as strawberry and cherries in syrup. There are candied notes, with meringue and liquorice. Thanks to its ageing in French oak barrels there are notes of toast and crme brle, with a subtle leather aroma. The palate is balanced, very smooth, with good body and great all round elegance. The vineyards that

Deep violet-red colour. The nose is full of Syrah character, with strong, ripe black fruit notes of blackberry and blueberry, as well as red fruit such as strawberry and cherries in syrup. There are candied notes, with meringue and liquorice. Thanks to its ageing in French oak barrels there are notes of toast and crème brûlée, with a subtle leather aroma. The palate is balanced, very smooth, with good body and great all-round elegance.

The vineyards that give rise to our Montes Alpha Syrah are located in two distinct zones of the Colchagua Valley: Apalta and Marchigüe. These two areas have soils of granite origin at differing stages of decomposition, as well as of highly variable depths and amounts of clayand organic matter. Made from 90% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Viognier.

The season began with a mild winter and precipitation close to 320 mm in Apalta. Irrigation began later in the season thanks to a cool, rainy spring, which allowed us to store water for the summer season. Summer in the Colchagua Valley was dry, with an absence of any rain that could have affected the health of the grapes. It was warm, but so excessive as to damage the vines or fruit. Thanks to controlled moisture conditions between fruit set and veraison the size of the grapes was restricted, achieving a very good ratio of skin to pulp, meaning extraordinary colour and concentration, rich tannins, and very good aromas. The climate for the harvest of red varieties was very favourable; there was no rainfall, allowing us to wait until full phenolic ripeness, without any disease that could have affected the quality of the wine. It was a year without any major climatic events to damage the health and quality of the grapes, giving us clean musts of great potential.

The grapes were harvested into 300-kg containers, and upon arrival at the winery, selected by hand before destemming. Grapes of Alpha quality were macerated in the fermentation tank for 5 days; afterwards, selected yeasts were added for a perfectly controlled fermentation that lasted for 7–10 days, until all the sugar had been converted into alcohol. The wine was racked into both stainless steel and concrete tanks, kept at the optimal temperature for malolactic fermentation—which can occur very quickly or take up to 20 days. Once this second fermentation finished, the wine was racked into French oak barrels where it remained for 12 months. One portion of the wine remained in concrete tanks before blending into the final, bottled wine.

Food Pairing: Highly recommended with red meats, Mongolian beef, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, and lambchops with Cabernet and mushroom sauce.